The Arts Program at BCD consists of the Performing Arts (Music — Chorus & Instrumental, and Theater), Digital Arts (Graphic Design & Digital Film), Studio Art and Shop:

The Studio Arts department hopes to provide time, place, materials and instruction to allow every student to experience the power and joy of creation. Students gain hands-on familiarity with a variety of mediums, including but not limited to drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, collage, digital graphics, and photography. They have the opportunity to discover their own path to fulfilling an assignment, to make choices, to develop self-expression, and to become comfortable with reading visual images. Students become familiar with a variety of styles and time periods in art, with the work of many artists, and with art from many cultures. They see connections between art and other subject areas, linking the interconnectedness of the real world for them. A student who has attended BCD for most their school years is curious, is comfortable with reading a work of art, with analyzing the flood of images our society generates, and with museum experiences. Students learn principles and elements of art and become aware of their own best abilities to create art work. They have the opportunity to work independently and in a group, and to show their work. They become sensitive to the fact that choice shapes all human efforts. They develop tolerance for one another’s efforts. They should also know that creating can be fun. The art teachers hope to challenge and nurture creative thinkers in society. Art throughout history deals with durable human concerns. Exposure to art contributes to being a well-rounded member of society.

Highlights:

• All students in kindergarten through Grade 9 take an art field trip each year. Destinations range from the Norman Rockwell Museum just down the road to the Metropolitan Museum in New York City
• Every student has their work displayed in the annual art show. Student work is also displayed in rotating exhibits throughout the year
• Some art projects are related to studies in other curriculum areas, including French, history, music, and English
• Students can come to the art room and continue working on their creations during recess, and when available during study halls or activities periods. This allows them to work at their own pace and keep up with the class

Shop is another aspect of BCD's mission to teach the whole child. It provides an opportunity for children to learn to create pieces of art using tools. The primal satisfaction of holding an object in your hands that you have crafted is a pleasure from which we are increasingly alienated in a mass produced society. The ability to use tools is empowering and encourages people to take control of the world around them. One of the basic tenets of the shop program is that the students select their projects. This allows each student to develop those skills that are of importance to him or her. Also, students learn to be patient and cooperative while waiting for assistance from the teacher. Student buddies help other students be safe while using power tools and teaching them to be good citizens. In the shop program age appropriateness is directly related to the machinery the students are allowed to operate. As the students mature, they are given more responsibility, whether it is a new tool they may operate or that they are allowed to operate a piece of machinery without assistance or supervision. Shop is a required subject for Grades 4 through 6 and meets once a week. The pottery portion of the program is designed to build on the students skills as they are mastered individually. Grades 7 through 9 have the option of selecting shop in the arts block of the Upper School schedule.

Highlights

• Pottery projects – wheel work, hand modeling, glazing
• Student selected wood and leaded glass projects
• Candle making for the holidays

Performing Arts

Music
The overall purpose of the Music Department is to involve all students in music making and to offer the opportunity for each student to become musically literate. By the time students’ graduate, it is hoped that they will be musical people; that is, that they will have a sense of musical elements (rhythm, melody, harmony, form, and timbre) and that they will have discovered that each person has the ability to participate in and contribute to a musical experience. By offering a variety of media (speech, song, movement, the playing of pitched and un-pitched percussion instruments, recorder, and band instruments) it is hoped that each student will have found an area of expression which provides enjoyment in musical experiences.

The Orff Schulwerk music program, which is taught from Grades 1 – 6, offers each student the opportunity to discover and develop his or her own musicality. Age appropriateness is always a consideration in planning music lessons. Lessons are presented sequentially, both within the specific task and within the curriculum through the grades. The students are encouraged to stretch musically and play and sing up to their potential. Since the music classes involve active means of participation in an ensemble, sensitivity to the members of the ensemble is essential and requires cooperation and builds a sense of community. Because the Orff approach involves speech, movement, and playing instruments, it offers the students multiple means of expression. Since all students in Grades 1 through 6 use the Orff instruments, each student must take responsibility for playing appropriately and respectfully. Reading music is cognitive. Performing with expression is artistic work.

Band/Instrumental
Beginning in Grade 4, students may elect to study a band instrument. Group lessons are offered once a week during lunch/recess. Students may choose from clarinet, flute, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone or percussion (includes snare drum and mallet percussion). After one year of lessons students are invited to join the Beginning Band. This band is made up primarily of students in Grades 5-6. The Beginning Band rehearses once on week on Wednesdays during lunch/recess, and will perform at various concerts throughout the school year.

Success in instrumental lessons and/or band requires practice at home. Beginning students should practice ten to fifteen minutes a day at least five days a week. Band students should practice fifteen to twenty minutes a day at least five days a week. Short frequent practice sessions are more productive than occasional long sessions. It is recommended that students have a music stand and a designated practice area in which they can leave their instrument at the ready. Students will not be graded for lessons or for band.

Students may elect to play in the Upper School Band provided they have at least two years experience playing a band instrument or upon the discretion of the director. The band will meet once a week and perform at various concerts throughout the school year. Goals will include producing a well-balanced sound, and exploring a variety of musical styles and genres. The instrumentation and ability level of the students will dictate the compositions to be studied. Students may have the opportunity to audition for the Massachusetts Junior Western District Music Festival. Auditioning for and participating in the Festival requires extra practice time. Western District is an opportunity for the more serious music student.

Chorus
Grades 1,2, and 3 make up the Lower School Chorus. Students meet once a week by grade for 40 minutes. They perform as a chorus in November, April and May. Chorus enhances the Orff-Schulwerk music program. In chorus students learn to cooperate and work as a group toward a common goal. Skills practiced include vocal production, diction, breath management, ear training, a sense of beat, and rhythm, part singing and choral reading skills. Materials are varied and include traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as quality composed choral works. Tools such as rounds, partner songs, ostinati, movement, dance, solfege and musical circle games are all used as a means of meeting the goals.

In the Middle School, The main objectives are to develop good vocal technique, proper breath support, clear diction, and confident stage presence. Choral pieces studied will vary in musical form, style, time period, and cultural origin. Learning to work as an ensemble and follow the conductor’s direction is key to the success of this group. Each grade rehearses once a week for forty minutes. Rehearsals begin with choral warm-ups including games, folk songs, rounds, rhythmic chants, breathing exercises and movement. A positive musical experience should assist in developing each child’s self-esteem as he or she learns to work as a team player. The focus will be on learning to sing in two parts and preparing to perform at several concerts throughout the year. Responsive Classroom ideas and techniques will be implemented in order to create a sense of community and encouragement.

The Upper School chorus is an optional music course for Grades 7 through 9. The class meets once a week for 40 minutes. The main objectives are to develop good vocal technique, proper breath support, clear diction and a confident stage presence. Learning to work as an ensemble and follow the conductor’s direction is the key to the success of this group. The focus will be on learning music in two and three parts. Music in a variety of forms and styles will be performed at concerts throughout the year. Students in this class may be offered the opportunity to audition for the Massachusetts Western District Music Festival. All students will be given a singing exam as part of their evaluation. Participation and a positive attitude are the most important factors to be assessed.

Highlights:

• "Vocal Jazz" (Grades 7-9, spring)
• "Electronic Music" (Grades 7-9, fall/winter/spring)
• "Electronic Music II" (Grades 7-9, spring)
• "Caribbean Music" (Grades 7-9, fall/winter/spring)

Theater

The theater program at BCD allows students to become members of a collaborative team with a singular goal. The fun, excitement, and hard work involved necessitates that each student play an integral role in the process, daring to contribute their own thoughts and ideas in a safe environment. Members of the cast and crew engage together in artistically challenging productions that model both sound theatrical practices and positive group dynamics. Students learn to make themselves and their work public while celebrating the work, ideas, and processes of ensemble mates.

The Upper School theater courses are designed as a place to focus on skills outside of the pressure of production. Starting with a safe, fun, and challenging experience in improvisation, students work up to an introduction to current acting techniques designed to give them a new set of tools for use exploring characters, relationships, and scenes.

Graphic Design
Graphic Design courses are offered to students in Grades 7-9 as additions to standard studio courses, in recognition of the growing field of art which is digitally based. Much of our world has become electronic and so, just as artists have always done, artists communicate in the medium 'of the times.' Today there are artists whose entire body of work may be produced through use of computers and other digital methods.

Graphic Design courses focus on learning the software necessary to produce graphic design. Additionally, each course will look at basic design principles which apply to all graphic communication. In the first two terms of the year, eighth and ninth grade students will create the BCD yearbook in Graphic Design 8/9. In addition to learning (better) how to use Adobe’s Photoshop (photo manipulation) and InDesign (typography and page composition), they will decide the thematic elements in the book, design and compose the pages, and either photograph or source photography for the book. An important element of this class is teamwork as the yearbook is a collaborative project.

Seventh grade students, during the first two terms of the year, have the chance to study Adobe’s Illustrator (art-making in vector graphics). Illustrator’s tools resemble an artist’s palette (mixable colors and drawing tools) as well as an industrial designer’s workshop (3-D imaging and art mapping). Students can build up images or adapt images within the program, add type and photographs.

In the spring, students in Grades 8-9 will have an opportunity to explore Illustrator, and Grade 7 will be able to use Photoshop as an art-making program.

Digital Film
In the Upper School, digital film is taught as part of the Arts curriculum. In the film courses, students have a chance to work on smaller projects and build skills. Through hands-on experience, the students move from introductory exposure to digital film techniques, equipment, and software to full engagement in short film projects of their own design. Courses include:

Highlights:

• Introduction to Digital Filmmaking: Fundamentals (Grade 7, fall/winter)
• Intermediate Digital Filmmaking: Concept, Composition, and Cutting (Grades 8 and 9, fall/winter)
• Advanced Digital Filmmaking: Independent Project (Grade 9, fall/winter) Prerequisite: Intermediate Digital Filmmaking (Offered by petition only)